Ski binding assemblies are typically sold separately from the skis to which they are subsequently to be attached. The ultimate purchaser is then able to make separate purchasing decisions with respect to the binding assemblies and the skis, following which the selected binding assemblies and skis are fastened together by means of threaded fasteners. In such instances, the binding assemblies, and the threaded fasteners required for mounting them to the skis, are packaged together to facilitate the eventual mounting of the assemblies onto a purchaser's skis.
While such procedure provides a purchaser with desirable product selection flexibility, in the past it has also entailed the disadvantage that when the fasteners are preinserted into the holes of a base plate with which the bindings are associated, they sometimes become accidentally separated from the base plate, causing inconvenience both to the seller and to the purchaser.
In addition, it is sometimes necessary to temporarily position a binding base plate against a ski in a location spaced from the ultimate mounting location. In such cases, exposed extending shanks of preinserted fasteners tend to interfere with such temporary positioning making the process of installation both complicated and time-consuming.
The problem has been previously recognized, as for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,300. The solution there proposed takes the form of a holding member such as a sleeve or washer made from a deformable material that is positioned within a screw hole in the component to be mounted, a screw being partially driven thereinto. After the component is mated to a counterpart component, the screw is fully driven, connecting the components together. Such a solution, however, does not address the problem of prepositioning, however, since the end of the screw shank protrudes from the underside of the screw hole in the first mentioned component, interfering with placement of the component in any location other than over the hole in the counterpart component into which the screw is to be finally driven. Furthermore, the friction between the screw and the deformable material increases the torque that must be applied to fully drive the screw.